"He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world."
Benjamin Franklin

Thursday, January 30, 2014

"When The Righteous Thrive, The People Rejoice, But When A Wicked Man Rules, The People Groan"

That verse is found in the Book of Proverbs, chapter 29 and verse 2 and its profundity is eternal regardless of whether or not a person or a nation believes the Bible.

Here in the United States we haven't had "rulers," as such, as other nations have had throughout the ages, Our elected officials have generally been aware of their temporal term in office and have, for the most part, submitted to the law of the land which is our United States Constitution. After all, they do take an oath to uphold that Constitution.

O' sure, we've had dishonest presidents, immoral presidents, misguided, naive and maybe even stupid presidents in my lifetime, but I don't really think any of them have been "wicked." That would be a pretty serious charge.

I won't call our current president and his ilk "wicked" but people all across the country are, in fact, groaning about the downward spiral besetting virtually every aspect of our society. Mainstream culture has become course and ribald. Language is becoming uncensored and morals are maligned as outdated and prudish. Christianity is openly mocked and God has been thrown out of any institution with government ties. Everything seems to be "upside down."

On the other hand, there are growing numbers of people who oppose abortion. Pro-life organizations have been very successful in closing down abortion clinics in recent years, but the current "ruling" party embraces abortion as if it were the most sacrosanct sacrament of their secular humanist religion. Even tax dollars are used to fund Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest provider of abortions.

But (and this is a very big but) the problems being caused by our expanding government cannot be solely blamed on the president and his willing minions. Congress is as much to blame as the Executive Branch and sadly, even more importantly, it's we the people who allowed these politicians to be elected and empowered.

Our Founding Fathers knew well of the responsibility of citizens to be well informed and engaged when it came to electing officials to positions of power. Read what Noah Webster had to say:

When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God (Exodus 18:21). The preservation of a republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty. If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.

We can't sit back and bemoan the evil excesses and corruption of big government without trying to do something about it, even though it looks like we may be way beyond the point of no return. We need to be "doing the work," up until the time of Jesus' return and that "work" includes being the salt and light to the world and doing all we can to have a positive influence on society.